Lilys and Lilacs
by Caden Ink
Summary: Lilac has a part-time job at S.H.I.E.L.D, so she's met the Avengers, seen some top-secret stuff, and spoken in person to Director Fury. But none of those compare to meeting the new high-security prisoner, Loki. And befriending him. And falling in love with him, with the help of some flowers. (Basically just a love story between my OC Lilac and Loki, and lots and lots of flowers)
1. Chapter 1: The Dangerous People

_**AN:**_** Hi there. Okay, so, this story is set a month after The Avengers. This will be explained in the story, but in case you wanted to know now... Loki has been sent to Earth/Midgard to basically rot in prison forever. This is a Loki/OC fic.**

Beep-beep-beep-beep

The steady blare of my alarm clock woke me up. I craned my arm and slapped the 'Off' button. No use pressing snooze. 7:00 AM. I had an hour to get to work. S.H.I.E.L.D wouldn't be happy if I was late. I was only a messenger, but even I had to be prompt. Monday, Wednesday and Friday 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM, and Sunday from 8:00 AM TO 4:30 PM.

I showered and threw on bright yellow skinny jeans and a casual black blouse, I might have to be prompt, but there wasn't much of a dress code. I scarfed down a bowl of cereal and was lacing my boots by 7:45.

"Leaving already, Lilac?" My mom was standing by the stairs, holding my grey overcoat. She smiled tiredly and cheerfully. My mom was a 'real trooper' as she'd say. Ever since my dad died of cancer when I was eight, it had just been her and me.

I was seventeen now with auburn red hair and chartreuse eyes, and had had my job at S.H.I.E.L.D for six months. I loved it. "Yep," I said smiling back. "See you this evening." I grabbed my coat and swung out the door.

I felt the pockets of my coat until I found my lanyard. My lanyard was my life. Seriously. Dangling from it was my flash drive, my keys, my mini-wallet, my gum pack, and most importantly, my S.H.I.E.L.D key card.

The card was one neat tool. It let me into the Colorado headquarters, and all the rooms- as a messenger, I needed to be able to get anywhere.

I hopped in my crappy old car and drove to HQ.

There were three security gates at HQ, outer, inner, and hull. Once inside, you had to go through more security checkpoints to get to certain parts of the HQ. It was a pain.

When I got to the message central port, Ana, my boss and friend, was waiting for me. She had glossy chestnut brown and baby blue eyes. She was really beautiful. She was also extremely business oriented. "Evidence needs to be taken to G32 immediately, Stark's in New York, but he wants these to be waiting for him when he gets back. And give these blueprints to 's G19." I nodded and took the pile, and was about to leave when Ana shoved a parcel on top of my pile. "And Dr. Banner's down in Foster's lab. He wanted these delivered."

"Kay. Why so much stuff?" The cool thing about being a messenger for a top secret government agency? You got to hear all the news, see all the toys and meet all the cool people, Avengers included. But there isn't normally this much of a load, especially first thing in the morning.

Ana grimaced. "You'll find out soon enough."

I walked- as gracefully as I could with all those boxes- out the door. A familiar feeling of excitement and foreboding filled me. When you work at S.H.I.E.L.D, you never know what to expect.

"Thank you, Lilac…" I set the small brown paper package on a desk near Dr. Banner. He was very preoccupied by a computer program that I had no idea how to work. He didn't look up, and probably only knew it was me because I'm the only messenger who delivers to him. The other messengers won't go near him- they're scared he'll turn into the Hulk- so I get all the fun people.

Ms. Foster smiled at me before returning to her work.

"No problem, Dr. Banner." I backed out of the lab. I had already delivered the other things in my first work load, and was free until someone else piled top-secret junk in my arms. Everyone was really flustered and stressed today. It reminded me of Ana. "You'll find out soon enough." I popped my head back through the door. "Dr. Banner, Ms. Foster? Why is everyone so tense today? Did I miss something yesterday?"

Ms. Foster shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Banner grimaced. "You don't know, then?"

I shook my head.

He shifted his posture. "A new prisoner arrived yesterday evening. About six. You may have heard of him."

I straightened slightly, my curiosity peaked.

"Loki." It was Ms. Foster who finally told me.

"Loki," I repeated, in disbelief.

Banner nodded and continued what he'd been saying before. "Apparently, the big-shots up in New York are letting Colorado HQ keep him. Although I'm not sure if they're letting us, or making us."

I closed my mouth, which I hadn't noticed was open. "Why?"

Banner shrugged. "I won't pretend to know."

I nodded. "Kay. Wow. Kay. I should be going now, work to do. Wow." I left the lab, mind whirling with thoughts. I didn't have any work to do… Maybe I could just… Slip past and see him… Wow, wouldn't that be crazy? Seeing the guy who tried to take over the world? I was giddy with excitement. It was obvious where they'd be keeping him. Level -3 was the lowest floor in HQ, and where they kept the dangerous people. It would be easy to drop by, pretend I was delivering something and take a peek. I walked with a spring in my step towards the elevator.

**_AN:_**** Kind of a boring chapter, I know, it was just to set up the setting and a few characters. Next chapter should be out by Monday, but no promises**.


	2. Chapter 2: A Silver Ring

_Level -3 was the lowest floor in HQ, and where they kept the dangerous people. It would be easy to drop by, pretend I was delivering something and take a peek. I walked with a spring in my step towards the elevator._

The moment I got to level -3, it was obvious something was different. All the cells lining the hall were empty. Normally there was five people in there, give or take a few. Now there was nobody. No prisoners, but no guards either. If Loki himself was here, shouldn't there be more guards? Maybe Banner and Foster were pulling my leg, and this was all just an elaborate prank. But no way would the higher-ups permit such a thing to happen, even if Banner was one of their personal favorites.

I walked through the labyrinth like corridors of the prison level, until I heard voices. I froze. I strained my ears to hear who it was. "I dunno, man. I think we deserve a raise…" S.H.I.E.L.D workers, then. Probably guarding something. Guard-duty wasn't the most coveted job among agents. Guarding what? I had a guess. And a plan.

I strode confidently towards the guards. The moment I entered the room they were in, I scanned it with my eyes. A small rectangular room with no windows. Which made sense, since we were underground. There was however, one wall that was almost entirely glass, except for a metal doorway. Through the glass wall, I could see a circular glass cell-like room, with a metal walkway around it. I couldn't see if the cell was inhabited, because of the metal doorway, but why else would the guards be there?

The guards noticed me almost right away. One pulled a gun- though I could tell by the shape it was only a stunning gun. Of course, with S.H.I.E.L.D., you never know. It could hsve knocked me out for two years, with their tech. "You're not authorized to be here?"

I raised an eyebrow quizzically- something I'd been practicing at home. "Really? Why'd the elevator let me down?"

The guards looked at each other in a 'I dunno' kind of way. The guard with the stun gun lowered it.

I raised my hands up in a surrender pose. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just here to hurt you, or anything. I just want to see the prisoner."

The guard shook his head. "Nuh uh, sweetie. Not cleared for access."

I smiled 'sweetly', a little annoyed at him calling me 'sweetie'. I held up my badge hanging on my lanyard. "Messenger. Cleared for access everywhere." My sweet, girly smile may or may not have turned into a full-on smirk.

The other guard shrugged. "Scan your badge. If it let's you in, you're free to go."

My smirk smile flickered. I wasn't actually sure if my badge would let me in. I didn't actually have anything to deliver, but I had to keep up the act if I wanted to see the mischief-maker myself. I strode up to the metal door confidently as I could and held my badge up to the scanner, and held my breath. Beep-beep. The door opened for me. I let out the breath and smiled overly sweetly at the guards. "Thank you." I walked through the door, and peered curiously into the glass cell.

I saw a twin-sized bed. I saw a bedside table with a glass of water and a book. I saw a stool. I saw a corner with two more books. I did not, however, see a 'god'.

I turned towards the room the guards are in and made a confused gesture with my hands. _Where?_ I mouthed.

The guards looked amused. One of them pressed a button near the door, I heard a click, and then his voice. An intercom. "He still has some of his powers. Weakened, but as far as we know, the only ones he has currently are teleportation- but only within his cell, of course- and invisibility."

I nodded, and peered into the cell again, slightly disturbed that he could be right in front of me and I wouldn't know it.

The click came again, and the guard added, "Look for a silver ring, probably close to the ground. He has an ankle cuff, which is the main drain of his powers. It resists his invisibility."

I nodded again and examined the cell carefully. But before I could find the ankle cuff, he appeared, right in front of my face, a deranged grin on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes. Loki was gaunt. His black hair hung lank around his chin, his cheeks are hollow, and his eyes look sunken. He had the face of someone who could have been handsome, if taken better care of. The grin faded into a look of utmost rage.

He turned away from me and suddenly disappeared, only to reappear feet away. He overturned the bedside table, sending the glass of water flying. It must have been plastic, because it didn't break. The water splashed everywhere. He was screaming. The bed, the books, the stool, flung around the small room. One of the books hit the glass in front of my face. I jumped, but was interested. When the book hit the glass, the glass had glowed gold. It must have been Asgardian tech.

He reappeared in front of me again. He screamed- more like a roar really,and stood there breathing heavily, staring me in the eyes. Loki's eyes were startlingly green, and seemed to stare right into my soul. I strode quickly away, but in the back of my mind, I was already making plans to visit again. Three books, a bed, a stool and a table was hardly entertainment.

_**AN:**_** Tada! Chapter Two. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, so keep your eye out. And a shout-out to missy126 for being the first reviewer! Thanks so much! I should also probably mention that I don't own Marvel, the Avengers, or Loki. Though I wish I did. Also, please don't sue me, I don't want to go to jail, and I'm broke.**


	3. Chapter 3: Bladder Nut Tree

_Loki's eyes were startlingly green, and seemed to stare right into my soul. I strode quickly away, but in the back of my mind, I was already making plans to visit again. Three books, a bed, a stool and a table was hardly entertainment._

I didn't visit Loki again that day. I wasn't too scared, really, I was just busy. Lots of deliveries to be made. The whole time, I was lost in my thoughts. The book that had slammed into the glass in front of me had been called 'Encyclopedia of Flower Meanings'. Not exactly the kind of book I expected him to have, but I guessed he didn't have much of a choice. Still… I had an idea. As soon as my shift was over, I said bye to Ana and rushed out of HQ.

Instead of going straight home, I stopped by the library and scanned the shelves for a very specific book. I couldn't believe my luck when I found it. 'Encyclopedia of Flower Meanings'. The same edition Loki had.

"Hi, Mom." I hugged her, but didn't dwell in conversation, instead thundering upstairs to my room.

I flipped open the book. I scanned the book, at first curiously, but then with purpose. I was looking with something specific. It didn't take me too long to find a flower with an acceptable message. A bladder nut tree flower. According to this book, it meant 'amusement'. I bet nobody had responded with amusement to one of Loki's tantrums.

Still, the look in his eyes haunted me. Bitter and heartbroken.

"Knock knock?" It was my mom. "Lilac, are you alright? It's not like you to come running to your room."

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine."

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

My mom opened the door and slipped in. She sat next to me on my bed. "What's this?" She reached around me to grab the book. "Encyclopedia of Flower Meanings. You're reading this? Not your style, is it?"

I shrugged. "Just… Looking. But, hypothetically, where could I find a bladder nut tree flower?"

The next day, school was painfully long. I kept checking the clock. I couldn't wait to go to HQ for my Monday shift. I had a flower to deliver.

The moment the last bell, rung, I rocketed out of my seat and to my locker. I crammed my stuff in my backpack and was on my way to HQ, maybe pushing a few people along the way.

"What do you have for me, Ana? Make it quick."

Ana looked at me with annoyance. "I may be your friend, but I'm still your boss. Things have settled down a bit since yesterday. I assume you figured that out?" As she spoke, she filled my arms with envelopes and papers.

I nodded. "Loki."

Ana nodded. "Personally, I'm not comfortable having him so close to me."

I shrugged. "I think it's… Fascinating. Anyway, where am I going?"

"Papers for the G9 department, a personal letter for Nancy and weapons plans for G23."

I half walked-half jogged through the halls of HQ. I delivered the papers to G9, the letter to Nancy, which sounded something like this: "Hey, Nancy. Personal letter. Can't talk, bye!", and practically threw the plans to the first G23 worker I saw.

I sprinted to the elevator, flower in hand. When the doors opened, I was surprised to see an agent there. "Oh. Um. Hi, sir."

He nodded to me. "Lilac." Being one of the few messengers at Colorado Headquarters meant most people knew my name.

I pressed the -3 button and held my badge to the scanner, relieved when it beeped in affirmative.

The agent looked at me sceptically. "-3? What do you have to do with the prisoner?"

I hid the flower behind my back. "Um. Nothing. sir. Just… Delivering a message to the guards."

He nodded, but still looked sceptical. "Well, this is me." He left, and I breathed a sigh of relief. When the elevator stopped at level -3, I jogged to the room with the guards. Lucky for me, they were the same ones as yesterday.

The guard who'd pointed the stun gun at me looked surprised to see me. "Didn't think you'd be coming back with the scare you'd had yesterday."

I laughed lightly. "Just let me in." I scanned my card and walked into the metal walkway around Loki's cell, despite the guards' unsure attitude.

He was visible this time, lying on the neatly made bed. The cell had been cleaned up. I wondered if he'd done it, or if a S.H.I.E.L.D. worker had done it for him. He held a book in front of his face, Peter Pan, but it didn't look like he was actually reading it. More like, staring at nothing.

I tapped gently on the weird glass. It glowed gold when I did. "Hey." No response. I rolled my eyes. "Fine, be like that." I strode out of the room and into the guard's room. "Is there a way to deliver an object to him?"

A guard- the one who didn't point a stun gun at me- looked at me incredulously. "Deliver an object? To the prisoner? Are you insane?" He wiped his brow with his hand. "But yeah. The object has to go through a scan, but yeah."

"Great!" I said. I tore a sticky note from the guards' desk and borrowed a pen. I scribbled down, This is a bladder nut tree flower. Look it up. "I need this note and this flower," I held up the pretty white bloom, "delivered a.s.a.p!"

The guard looked sceptically at the flower but shrugged and ran both the flower and the note under a machine with a scanner. I wondered what the machine checked for. "Alright, it's clear. I'll send it through." the guard said.

He walked into the walkway around Loki's cell and towards the door. I half expected him to open the door- which seemed a bit suicidal, given Loki's outburst yesterday, but instead, he scanned his badge and opened a small rectangular opening to the left of the door. I assumed they also used that to deliver food. He slid my message in. They fell to the ground, but the flower looked undamaged.

"Thanks!" I said cheerfully. I glanced at Loki, but he continued to stare blankly at his book. I turned back to the guards. "I should probably know your name. I think I'll be coming here a lot."

The stun gun guard grunted "Gunner." I almost laughed at the coincidental name.

The other guard cracked his neck obnoxiously- gross- and said "Drew."

I nodded. "Lilac!" I said amicably. "See you tomorrow, or the day after, if I'm too busy!"

I was beginning to feel a strange excitement for my upcoming visits.

_**AN: **_**Here's yet another chapter. I've been stressed out, and when I'm stressed, I write. I still don't own Marvel or Loki. I do claim rights over Lilac and my other OCs. And thank you to missy126, Dooka1999 and Return of the Valkyrie for reviewing! The next chapter should be up within the next week!**


	4. Chapter 4: Wednesday: After School

Tuesday was horrendous.

Believe it or not, I did have a life outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. It wasn't a particularly great life, but there was more to me than my part-time job. School, for example.

School sucked. I got alright grades, Bs mostly, but I had a terrible social life. I was terrible at making friends. I tried to be cheery, but that normally came across as stuck-up and creepily happy. I had a few casual friends, but nobody that I would spend time with outside of school, which is why I was home with my mom most of the time.

Ana, my boss and coworker, was probably the best friend I had. We went out for coffee a couple times a month, and saw each other four days a week at work.

So, Tuesdays, with school and no work, were some of my worst days. I spent most Tuesdays and Thursdays thinking about work. Who wouldn't think about work if they worked at S.H.I.E.L.D? With all the freaks wandering around the place, and all the top-secret info that I got to hold, but never read? And of course, who wouldn't think about work when you got to see the most dangerous man ever to set foot on Earth?

Wednesday, after school, I had a special object in my backpack. A small bouquet of musk roses. Roses were easy to find, go to any flower store and they'll have them. The hard part was finding the right variation of rose. I had specifically chosen a cluster of musk roses, because it meant 'charming'. Let him be the judge of whether or not I was sarcastic or serious.

Probably leaning more towards the 'sarcastic' side.

"Hey, Ana." I said when I saw my co worker.

She turned around from the filing cabinets she was sorting through. "Lilac!" She picked up a stack of papers. "Here you go. Mission file for Epsilon Team, some new scientific report for Foster and Banner, and a personal letter for Agent Hao."

"Mhmm. Any news on Loki?"

Ana shrugged. "Not that I've heard. I haven't seen him since he was escorted in on Saturday. I did hear some guards saying that he won't acknowledge anyone and only eats or sleeps if there's nobody watching. Of course, someone could be watching him with the cameras and he wouldn't know."

"Does he get many visitors?"

Ana gave me an amused look. "Yeah, the occasional agent trying to make him talk, but other than that? Who would visit the freak?"

I laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah…"

Ana made a shooing motion with her hands. "Get going! You're here to work, not gossip!"

I smiled and left the room, starting my first round. I delivered a folder full of mission descriptions to Epsilon Team. They looked bored, and I wondered if they already knew what their mission was. Normally people were excited, or at least interested to find out their mission. I made my way to Ms. Foster's lab, where Dr. Banner was working again. "Hey, guys. Some scientific discovery." I set the file in front of Dr. Banner. "By the way. I visited Loki."

Their heads shot up from work. "What?" exclaimed Ms. Foster. "You did what?"

"I… Visited Loki."

"Why?" Ms. Foster looked distressed. Dr. Banner wheeled his office chair over to her little desk and murmured something in her ears.

I shrugged. "I was interested."

Dr. Banner shook his head. "He's dangerous, Lilac."

"The first time I went-"

Ms. Foster interrupted me. "First time? You went more than once?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Once on Sunday, he threw a bit of a tantrum, and on Monday he just ignored me."

Banner sighed long and loud. "I suppose there's nothing he can do to you in that box, with that cuff on his ankle."

I faked a grin awkwardly. "Yeah…" I backed away and slipped out of the lab.

As I was going, I heard Ms. Foster call, "Stay away from him, Lilac!"

I pretended not to hear.

* * *

"Hey, Gunn-" I cut off. The guards outside Loki's cell were not the same ones that had been there on Sunday and Monday. "You guys aren't Gunner and Drew."

One of the new guards was a young woman. She was Asian, tall, and bulging with muscles. The other guard was a man, black hair, brown eyes, tall, with a belt full of gadgets, most of which looked extremely dangerous.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Way to state the obvious, kid. Get out."

I gnawed on my lip- one of my bad habits. My lips are always bloody and scarred. "Um, my name is Lilac. I'm here to see Loki."

The woman raised an eyebrow- I was so jealous of people who could do that. "Really?" she asked, her face showed how expression other than that intimidating eyebrow. It was actually starting to weird me out. "_You_ want to see _him_? What's your position, kid?"

"Um, messenger?" I held up my badge.

The man chuckled. "Messenger?" he asked. "And you expect to get in there? That walkway is top security, and you a messenger, want in?"

"Let me scan my badge. If it works, I'm obviously allowed in." I silently hoped that nobody had changed my access privileges. One, it would be utterly embarrassing, two, I wouldn't be able to see Loki again.

The man shrugged. "Whatever." He obviously didn't think I could get in. I desperately wished he was wrong.

I strode up to the scanner with fake confidence and held up my badge. The machine beeped, and the door opened. My confidence restored, I did a sarcastic bow to the shocked guards, and entered the metal walkway around Loki's cell. "Hey, Loki," I said nervously.

He was sitting on the stool, which today was positioned as far away from the guard room as it could get.

A tray of food dishes sat on the floor near the slot Drew had used to deliver the flower. I assumed that was how food was given to Loki. The dishes looked as if nothing had been eaten, but a mostly empty glass of water showed that he had drank something. As I watched, the floor where the tray sat began to sink into the ground, taking the uneaten food with it. So that was how they disposed of the dirty dishes. They didn't even have to open the door. Loki really didn't get much fresh air. The floor came back into place.

Currently, Loki was staring off at nothing in particular. "Hey," I said again. No response. I remembered what Ana had said about him not acknowledging anyone. She wasn't kidding. He looked as though he hadn't even noticed me, and briefly, I wondered if he didn't know I was there at all. But a flicker of his eyes towards me tipped me off that he was just really, really good at ignoring people. I leaned against the glass, and as I did, it glowed gold briefly, just as it had when he had thrown the book at it. I began to talk, about nothing in particular. I talked about school, about work, about what I did at home.

I was there twenty minutes, according to the clock on my phone. The whole time, he did nothing but stare at… Well… Nothing. Eventually, I realized my shift had been over for a few minutes and my mom would be expecting me home soon. "See ya on Friday, Lokes" I said cheerfully. I glanced at Loki, trying to see if the nickname had caused a shift in emotion. Nope. Solid, stony expression. Before I left the walkway, something caught my eye. A delicate white flower, laying on the bedside table. The bladder nut tree flower. I smiled slightly and walked out of the room, feeling like I'd spent twenty minutes talking to myself.

I was about to leave the guard room when I remembered the rose I had brought. I swiveled around. "Oh, I almost forgot! Can you give this to him?" I fished a note saying 'Musk rose' and the bouquet out of my bag and showed it to the guards.

The man shrugged. "Yeah, but it has to-"

"Go through a security scan." I finished his sentence. "I know. I've done this before."

The man shrugged but took the note and bouquet, looking at the blossoms as though they was poisonous. I watched as he sent it through the machine, entered the walkway and pushed it roughly through the slot. It fell onto the slat of floor the tray of food had once been. I hoped Loki picked it up before it was taken down to wherever his leftovers went.

When the man returned, I asked for the guards' names.

"Agent Temujin." said the woman.

"Aim." the man grunted.

I nodded. "Great! I think I already told you, but my name's Lilac. Will you be here on Friday?"

Aim nodded. "Temujin and I have duty Wednesday through Saturday. Gunner and Drew- I guess you already met them- are here Sunday through Tuesday. They're the amateurs." He grunted.

I nodded, trying to hide a grin. At S.H.I.E.L.D., everyone thought they were the top guns, and everyone else were amateurs. "Ah," I said, "Well, I'll see you on Friday then." I left the room, once again, leaving two stunned guards in my wake.

_**AN: **_**Here ya go! It hasn't been thoroughly edited, and I might come back later on to do more editing, but here is chapter four. I've had Thursday and Friday off of school, so I've had a lot of time to work on this and my original stories. I want to have another chapter up by Monday, but we'll see how that turns out.**

_**I don't own Marvel.**_


	5. Chapter 5: Pear Tree Flower

_"Well, I'll see you on Friday then." I left the room, once again, leaving two stunned guards in my wake._

On Friday, the drive to work seemed particularly long. At every red light, my hand went automatically to my side to feel the single, white flower I had brought with me. The bloom was small, with five delicate, white petals and seemed almost too fragile and graceful to exist. It was a pear tree flower, with a meaning I had chosen carefully. Comfort.

Gently taped to the flower was a small piece of paper on which I had written, _This is a pear tree flower. Look it up. PS: I mean it, by the way_

I did mean it. I had so many contradicting emotions about Loki. Amazed, because he was so awe inspiring, even in his 'weakened state'. Confident, though I knew I shouldn't be confident around him. He made me feel both courageous and cowardly. Distressed that I was already so comfortable around him, a mass murderer. Enthralled by him, though he'd yet to speak a word to me. Startled by the hopelessness he emanated. Intimidated by the way he held himself, even in captivity. Pity. I pitied him in ways I didn't know possible. Sheepish for enjoying his silent company when nobody else did. Thrilled. Every visit I made was thrilling, full of fear and excitement. And most of all, yearning. Yearning for something unknown.

* * *

"Hey Ana." I started to smile at my friend before I saw her face.

Ana was grimly staring me down. "Lilac."

"Um, yeah?" I asked nervously. Had she found out about my visits to Loki? Was I in trouble? Would she fire me?

"You haven't been taking work seriously, have you?" Wait, what? "You come here at the beginning of your shift, then disappear for the rest of your work time." Oh. Yeah. I didn't think about that. "I don't know where you go-" Oh, thank god. "-but you need to start doing more work, or I'll be forced to fire you. S.H.I.E.L.D. protocal."

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, boss."

She shook her head, a smile creeping onto her pretty features. "Here." She handed me my first stack of deliveries. "I labeled them today, so I don't have to tell you where to go." I turned to go, but she spoke again. "And Lilac? Don't make me fire you."

I smiled at my friend. "Sure thing."

* * *

After I delivered my first workload, I returned to the message central port to get a second load. Ana seemed relieved to see me. "Good. I thought I was going to have to 'relieve you of your duties' as S.H.I.E.L.D. likes to say. Fancy words for 'you're fired'." She handed me a slightly larger stack than earlier. "Go on."

"Bye, Ana." I left with the heavy load of papers and envelopes. I glanced at the nearest clock. 5:04. I had a little less than an hour before my shift ended. A little less than an hour to deliver the pear tree flower, which was tucked safely in the back pocket of my torn skinny jeans. Every once and a while I would reach back and touch it gently, just to make sure it was still there.

I slipped into the guards' room. Agent Temujin was leaning against the desk, a large and dangerous looking gun in her hand. Part of me wondered why. Sure, she was guarding a top-security prisoner who had destroyed a small town, part of New York, and killed a few people in Germany, but… Okay, maybe the enormous gun did make a little bit of sense.

Aim was sitting at the desk, looking at the computer, a slightly smaller gun sitting next to him.

"Hey, guys…" I ventured cautiously. I'd gotten a grasp on Gunner and Drew's personalities rather fast, but I had no idea how to approach Temujin and Aim, except with extreme caution. They had big guns.

Temujin grunted. She didn't even look up to see me.

Aim looked up from the computer and stood. "Lilac, right?"

"Yep, that's me."

"Do you want in again?"

"Yeah. I've also got this for him." I took the white flower out of my back pocket, along with the little note I'd written. "Can you send it through the security scan?"

Aim took the flower and went towards the scanning machine. "You're the only person that talks to him, you know."

I paused before I went through the door and onto the walkway around Loki's cell. "What do you mean?"

Aim sent the flower through the machine and handed it back to me. "Other people- higher ups, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that actually matter- they'll come in here, and talk at him. Tell him what he's done wrong, what his punishment is… But they don't actually want him to talk back. different. You want him to talk back. Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I just… I don't know." It was true. I didn't know why I kept coming back. The fact that I was amazed by him? Enthralled by him? "But, what exactly is his punishment?"

"As far as I know, life-long imprisonment down here."

I tried to imagine how that would feel. Being stuck in a round, glass prison, with no privacy, and nothing to entertain me but four or five books. And he was an alien-god-thing. A human life sentence was one thing, but who knows how long Loki would live. He could be in that glass cage for thousands of years. It seemed so… Hopeless.

I decided to leave that subject of discussion behind. "So, how do I get this," I held up the small pear tree flower, "Into the cell?"

"Scan your badge to the right of the door. The delivery passage will open for you, and close automatically after the flower is in the cell. Don't scan your badge to the left of the door, because that opens the actual door. You don't want that." He chuckled to himself and then returned to the computer.

I scanned my badge and entered the walkway. The sound of my footsteps on the metal was starting to become familiar. I easily found the scanner that would open the delivery passage. I slid the flower and my note in and watched them fall to the ground. I walked to my usual spot to the far right of the door and leaned against the weird glass, which glowed gold briefly when I came in contact with it. "Hey, Loki."

Today, Loki was laying on the bed in his cell, staring up blankly at the ceiling. I wondered what he was thinking about. Two flowers now lay on the bedside table. The bladder nut tree flower, and the musk rose.

"I brought you another flower." I pointed vaguely at the pear tree flower on the ground. "I, um, hope you like it." I could've slapped myself. _I hope you like it?_ That just sounded dumb. "Um… So… What have you been up to?"

Surprisingly, he turned his head and stared at me. I got the message.

"Hehe, yeah… Guess there's not exactly much to do." He turned his head back, and continued staring at the ceiling. "Nothing really happened to me since I last talked to you." I took my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. 5:54. My shift was over in six minutes. I mulled over what to do in my head. I could go home, like I normally did after my shift was over… Or I could stay here. There was nothing and nobody to stop me.

I put my phone away. "I normally go home in about five minutes, but I'm gonna stay today." I sat down on the floor and crossed my legs. "You seem like you could use some company."

No response.

I don't know what I was expecting. Him to miraculously stand up and start talking to me like a normal human? The thought was almost laughable.

I spent the next half hour conversing with Loki. Well, not really. I spoke out loud, but he never responded. Sometimes her would turn his head to look at me, but nothing more. Eventually I stood up. "See you Sunday, Lokester."

My footsteps on the metal walkway was the only sound as I walked away. But, just as I was about to leave the walkway, I heard his voice. "What are you called, mortal?"


End file.
